| canard |
a deliberately false story or rumor, usually defamatory to someone. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| fledge |
to grow flight feathers. |
| guru |
in a cult or religious movement, a spiritual guide or leader, sometimes believed to be divine. |
| kibbutz |
an Israeli farming settlement whose ownership is shared by those who live and work there. |
| nostrum |
a favorite but unproven scheme or theory, offered as a remedy for social or political problems; panacea. |
| obfuscate |
to make (something) seem or be difficult to understand; obscure or darken. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| pleonasm |
a redundant word, phrase, or expression. |
| precursory |
coming before and serving to indicate what will follow; premonitory. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| stative |
in grammar, of or designating a category of verbs that express state or condition. |
| woebegone |
displaying or full of distress. |